The 'Downfall' of Generation Y
By: Rocio Villalobos
It’s
hard to imagine our nation going to war. As kids growing up in the nineties
we always viewed war as a part of other generations. World War II, Vietnam,
and the Persian Gulf War were part of our nation’s history, but
not a part of our own personal history: at least not for the majority
of us. The thought of war itself was unimaginable until early morning
this day. At 8:45 am EST on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, the lives of
millions of Americans were forever changed. Two planes crashed into
the World Trade Center towers in New York City. Shortly thereafter another
plane crashed into the Pentagon in Washington, D.C. Words cannot begin
to describe the horror and amazement my classmates and I felt as we
watched these events unfold on the television screen.
Later, another plane crash was reported, taking the lives of even more
innocent Americans. No matter how hard we all try, today’s events
will always be present in our memories. Before today all Americans believed
that an attack of this magnitude was virtually impossible. However,
our great nation and our president are now being tested against this
tragedy. As horrific as it sounds, we are presented with the possibility
of World War III. The world we once felt safe in has been demolished.
As with the Oklahoma City bombing, Americans can’t believe this
sort of atrocity would occur in our modern nation and times. The repercussions
of this attack have only yet begun.
As teenagers and young adults in the 21st century we have been blessed
with the luxury of being carefree. We have not had to fight in wars
and sacrifice millions of young men and women. This luxury is now being
threatened, however. It’s difficult to imagine our siblings and
fellow classmates decked out in military attire, machine gun in hand.
Unfortunately, this image seems to become more and more likely as the
day continues. Sitting in our classes, many of us commented on the tragic
event. “It felt almost as if it were straight out of Independence
Day or Armageddon.” This single piece of commentary
is one I heard the most throughout the day.
As naive as it may sound, many of us still hope for a peaceful way to
bring justice to those who committed this crime. We still wish to be
that carefree generation we once were; but this is impossible. Looming
in the back of our minds will always be the question of whether or not
we are truly safe. I think it'st best to end this with a quote from
a song by MxPx called “Responsibility” that we can all relate
to: “I’m still young and I’d like to stay that way, ‘cause
growing up won’t make everything okay...”
